A peek into the HP TouchPad: webOS 3.0 screenshots

In a world of iPads and Honeycomb
tablets, one operating system stands truly unique – you guessed it
right, it's webOS. As we're approaching the “summer” release date
of the HP TouchPad, folks over at PreCentral have gotten hold of five
precious screenshots of webOS 3.0, the tablet-optimized version of
the platform.

First and foremost is the wittily
called "Browser." You should be already familiar with the
on-screen keyboard on webOS 3.0, but nothing is better than a real
screenshot confirming a five-row layout, with a separate row for
numbers and symbols. The default seems to be for lowercase letters,
at least until you switch using the Shift button, just like on a
regular keyboard. Everything keeps the signature webOS looks with the
familiar Prelude font, rounded shapes and minimalistic styling. The
top holds navigational keys, as well as three buttons on the right
for sharing, opening a tab and bookmarks.

In the Maps department, settings look
austere as well, freeing up space on the 9.7-inch screen. You have a search
box, as well as separate buttons for switching between "Search" and "Directions." Finally, the top right holds the additional
information and bookmarks keys. By the looks of it, we're treated
with Bing maps. While it definitely has its pluses such as the scale
bar in the bottom right, we would prefer to see the data-rich Google
Maps.

Messaging is equally simplified, with
two panes allowing you to view your contacts (on the left), while you
chat with a particular person (on the right.) Next on the list is the
contextual menu, brought up by hitting the upper right corner
clock/battery bar. It grants you quick access to the date, battery
status and brightness controls among others. You'll also see the VPN
toggle switch, particularly useful for corporate folks.

Finally, the Music application carries strong resemblance to iTunes,
both in color and styling. We can't say much except for the obvious –
it supports filtering your media by songs, artists, albums and
genres. Finally, we still have months until summer, so
everything is subject to change, but it's very likely for the basic apps
to stay this way. So what are your thoughts - webOS 3.0 has the looks, but will it match other
operating systems in content? Sound off in the comments below.

6.TabletNetbook (unregistered)

HP could do well with WebOS but they have to market it correctly and provide more than one form factor for each device. They really need a tablet/netbook like the Asus transformer. However, I really feel they need to license it to make it a legitimate platform.

They also need to market WebOS as the "open" OS that is supported long term--point out how Android lacks support from the OEMs and how iOS is locked down and overly restrictive in relation to WebOS--of course I don't mean actually name Android and iOS in the ads ;)

I really like WebOS. If there's any OS that could make me switch from iOS, it would be WebOS. For me, WebOS is like a marriage between Android and iOS. It has the smoothness, responsiveness, simplicity, stability, & friendliness of iOS, while it also has the openess and freedom of Android. WebOS is a winner.

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